“If Lake Powell Was a Ranch:” WLA’s Field Day at Mountain Island Ranch
MOUNTAIN ISLAND RANCH, CO — After no snow and unseasonably warm temperatures this winter, the effects of drought could be seen everywhere at Mountain Island Ranch. But clever construction and
Caring for the Little Dolores, headwaters to confluence
The Mountain Island Ranch straddles the Colorado-Utah border, from high country to canyon bottoms, riparian wetlands and desert, and public and private lands due to classic Western checkerboarding. The ranch
Re-restoring the Animas after a post-fire flood
When erosion-control solutions designed and funded by the NRCS washed away in a flood, Dave Koeberle stepped in with $60,000 of his own money to rebuild and improve the structure. In
Pondering Artificial Beaver Dams
Among the nine young adults who showed up to work on the author's place was Regan Ware, shown here plotting out locations for beaver dam analogues in the creekbed. MCC crew
Stream Restoration on the Knight Ranch to Improve San Juan Cutthroat Trout Habitat
The article and photographs below were created by Ed MacKerrow between August and October of 2025. Ed tragically passed away shortly afterward. It has been lightly edited to update the
An Old Map Could Provide a New Vision for Water Management in the West
There are a lot of cartographic ways to envision the Colorado River Basin. We now have high-definition satellite imagery that tells us nearly to the minute what the earth looks
“Making The Most Of Every Drop.” Ranchers Talk Water, Drought Resilience
LA GRANDE, OR — The Northeast Oregon Rangeland Summit was a great opportunity for landowners, government officials, and working lands professionals to come together and learn about the issues facing
Long-running Colorado lab says 2026 is the worst snow year in Gunnison Basin recorded history
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) reports that, as of late March, spring 2026 snowpack surrounding its Gothic, Colorado, campus was at its lowest level recorded in more than 50
What’s Going on Down There? Satellites, Irrigation, and Science with Perry Cabot
Perry Cabot is using cutting-edge science to understand evapotranspiration rates and how farmers and ranchers can adapt to drought in a drier West.
We Are Not Ready For The Scorching, Parched Summer Ahead
We’ve all read the innumerable news articles about the looming catastrophe on the Colorado River. The Upper and Lower Basins have failed to find a compromise, they’ve blown past multiple deadlines to come
New Study Shows Rain and Ag Have Closer Relationship Than Previously Assumed
A recent paper published by Yan Jiang, a hydroclimatologist completing a postdoc at the University of California, San Diego and Jennifer Burney, a professor of Global Environmental Policy and Earth
In drying West, hope for wetlands found on working lands, says new study
The warming climate in the American West is drying out wetlands at a greater scale than previously known. But where wetlands remain, and why, may surprise you. A 2025 paper, “Going,